DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

At a gathering of Worshipful Masters, inevitably one will
ask, “How’s your attendance holding up?” It is, for the most part a
rhetorical question.

The intent of this paper is to show that substantial
increases in attendance are possible provided the Master dares to be different.
This does not imply the need to experiment with so called “up-to-date”
methodology. On the contrary, it requires stimulating those members we
already have as well as those who will be voluntarily attracted into our midst
with pure and unimpaired Freemasonry. The sooner we stop blaming poor
attendance on the failure of the Craft to modernize, the better.

The last substantial influx of new members into
Freemasonry occurred over forty years ago. Since then, many reasons have
been suggested for the decrease in attendance.

Members have moved away from the metropolitan area
lodges. Once in suburbia they become accustomed to more leisure time, more
holidays, and longer vacations. Some turn to service clubs, where the
results of their participation may be more apparent. Others find that
civic responsibilities take up their evening hours.

Family ties now take precedence over fraternal ties.
For some, longer work hours and the pressure of doing business at night are
contributing factors.

The majority, however, do not attend simply because they
choose not to attend. They are bored to tears with business meetings.
Those who are not ritualists find little inspiration sitting on the sidelines
listening to the same brethren perform the degree work and give the lectures
time after time. Their contentions are real and can not be brushed aside.

We live in an achievement oriented society that views
ambiguous programs with skepticism. Mediocrity no longer suffices.
It’s time Masonic leaders stopped saying “something should be done “ and begin
saying “I’m going to do something about it.”

The call to the Master is the same today as it was when
the candidates petitioned in droves: to create an atmosphere for intellectual
and spiritual growth so that the members know from experience they are missing
something by not attending lodge.

Merely to suggest programs that others find helpful is
only part of the answer. What may work for one lodge may not necessarily
work for another. Symbolic Lodge Masonry cries out for an enlightened
membership responsive to the Master who carefully lays his designs upon the
trestleboard. The approach, therefore, includes preparing the members as
well as the Master. There are no shortcuts.

THE CANDIDATE

The Lodge Investigating Committee

The Masonic life of the prospective candidate begins with
the Lodge Investigating Committee. A committee that consists of one Past
Master, one line officer, and one member at large represents a cross section of
the lodge.

The Master who dispatches the committee to the
candidate’s home with clearly defined directives takes the first step in laying
a solid and dependable foundation.

In its visit with the petitioner and his family, the
committee should emphasize what Freemasonry is and what it is not. Their
discussion should include the following:

1. The purpose of our Ancient Order is to build
temples in the hearts of men; 2. The pursuit of excellence is one of
Freemasonry’s noblest aims; 3. Freemasonry is religious in nature, but it has no
creed or theology, and it is not incompatible with one’s religious beliefs; 4.
Freemasonry has an obligation to the community, but it is not a service club; 5.
Freemasonry stands for citizenship of the highest caliber, but it does not
engage in political activity; 6. Freemasonry emphasizes one’s obligations
to assist the needy, but it is not a welfare organization; 7. Freemasonry is not
a benevolent society providing insurance benefits; a Mason must make proper
provisions for the protection of his family in the event of illness or death.

These and many other points are proper for the Lodge
Investigating Committee to discuss with the petitioner and his family.
This approach enables the petitioner to gain a better understanding of our
principles and purpose, and the lodge can better judge his motives for seeking
membership.

Degree Work

Few candidates arrive totally prepared for the ordeal of
initiation. Even fewer receive a kindly briefing in the preparation room.
Whatever fears the candidate might have should be put to rest at the outset.

Initiation requires a sense of reverence. It should
be impressed upon the candidate that he is about to enter a solemn and dignified
ceremony. Degrees must then be performed with a like measure of dignity.
Anything less raises doubts in the candidate’s mind about the worth of the
experience.

The best way of assuring that new members return is to
not only confer the degrees, but to also make Masons.

Through its appropriate committee, every Grand Lodge
determines the procedure for conferring degrees. The symbolic Lodge,
however, makes Masons at its own pace. There is a distinction. And
we should always remember that a Master Mason cannot be made in three easy
lessons. It takes time.

To the average candidate, the philosophical depth of the
ritual is overwhelming. He hears a set of references that he has never
heard before and phraseology he does not use in daily conversation. We
then compound matters by delivering the lectures immediately upon conferring the
degrees.

Clearly we have no reason to congratulate ourselves when
a candidate rapidly memorizes the catechisms and receives his dues card four
weeks after initiation. So why not slow down the process. Dare to be
different.

The Masonic Service Association is an invaluable source
for information to complement the degrees. An index of current
publications is available for the asking. The candidate who receives good
and wholesome instruction at a leisurely, informal pace away from the lodge room
is likely to become an enthusiastic member who returns frequently.

There is an old Chinese proverb that if you are planning
for one year, plant grain. If you are planning for ten years, plant trees.
If you are planning for a hundred years, plant men.

THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER

Knowledge Beyond Ritual

Grand Lodges appoint instructors at all levels to teach
Masonic ritual. Few Masters, however, receive training in how to conduct
lodge meetings. Little is done to assure that the incoming Master has a
grasp of the history, philosophy and symbolism of the Craft. The
fundamentals of lodge management and good programming are rarely talked about in
detail. For these. lodge officers are left to educate themselves.
Many never do. Others start too late.

Prior to setting his designs on the trestleboard, the
future Master would do well to spend at least two years becoming a knowledgeable
Freemason. This is not to suggest that he must become a Masonic scholar,
only that he become familiar with the writings of learned brethren-Joseph Fort
Newton, Thomas Sherrod Roy, H.L. Haywood, Albert Mackey, Robert Gould, Roscoe
Pound, Dwight Smith, Alphonse Cerza, Harry Carr, Conrad Hahn, and Carl Claudy
among others.

The Grand Lodge library is an excellent source for
material, as is the Masonic Service Association. There are, in addition,
outstanding Masonic publications in the United States. One is The Indiana
Freemason, which features articles on contemporary Masonic thought as well as
essays by distinguished Masonic writers of the past. Membership in the
Correspondence Circle of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London, England,
the premier Masonic research lodge in the world, is recommended.

The Master who acquires a background in the history,
philosophy, and symbolism of the Craft understands the mission of Freemasonry.
Lodge attendance will reflect the extent of his preparation.

Setting the Craft to Work

Setting the Craft to work implies more than initiating,
passing, and raising candidates. It implies that the lodge is a dynamic
rather that a static entity. The Master should encourage each member to
take part in the activity suited to his character or abilities and to make sure
there is an activity in which he can participate.

In one particular lodge, a member rarely set foot in the
lodge room for almost twenty years. A Past Master remembered that the
brother spent his leisure hours interviewing applicants for admission to a major
university. The lodge wanted to start a scholarship program for needy and
deserving students, so the Past Master asked the brother for assistance.
The rest is history. The scholarship program has been a major commitment
of the lodge for fifteen years and the brother later served the lodge as Master.

Brethren involved in something they like to do value
their membership and return frequently. For those who like to putter
around the kitchen, help is always needed on the Refreshment Committee.
For those handy with axe, hammer, and saw, there is wood to be chopped or a
fence that needs mending at the home of an infirm brother or Masonic widow.
The lodge publication requires the assistance of brethren with writing skills.
For brethren with experience in fund raising, help is needed on the lodge
Charity Fund or Masonic Home appeal.

We cannot expect brethren to return to lodge week after
week, month after month, if not given a specific responsibility. With
nothing to do, sooner or later they tire of sitting on the brow of the hill and
before we know it, stop attending altogether.

Programs

The composition and character of the lodge are
determining factors in the selection of programs. Masonry teaches that men
of every sect and opinion meet on the level. We aim for common objectives
among men with dissimilar backgrounds. The Master who combines programs of
Masonic interest with fellowship and establishes a continued line of
communication with his lodge will sustain interest and induce attendance.

Most Worshipful Dwight L. Smith, Past Grand Master of
Masons in Indiana, in his widely acclaimed essays “Whither Are We Traveling?”,
suggests that Masonry should be a social, cultural, and intellectual experience.
A balance of all three elements is the Master’s objective in setting his designs
in the trestleboard.

Programs for a typical year might include patriotic
observances, Ladies’ Might, Past Master’s Night, Founder’s Day Observance, Youth
Night, Father and Son Banquet, lodge picnic, Mother’s Day Breakfast, and Masonic
plays.

By the time he becomes a Senior Warden, a line officer
should have assembled sufficient material to begin looking around for brethren
to present papers on selected topics. Masonic book reviews should also be
considered.

The distinguished Masonic scholar, Most Worshipful Conrad
Hahn, observed “...the lack of educational work in the average lodge is the
principal reason for the lack of interest and the consequent poor attendance in
Masonry over which spokesmen have been wringing their hands for at least a
century.”

The educational meeting is for enlightenment and
fellowship. Lodge business is not discussed. Ample time should be
allowed for those present to ask questions and make comments. Meetings of
this type usually last one hour and often the discussion continues in the dining
room at refreshment. A well balanced program of Masonic education includes
films, video tapes, and slide presentations, some of which are available through
MSA or the Grand Lodge.

The Meeting

Ask those who at one time regularly attended why they
stopped and the most frequent reply is, “The meetings are boring and much too
long. If the Master doesn’t put me to sleep, the Secretary does.”

Not all Masters are comfortable in the role of presiding
officer. However, there are steps the Master can take which minimizes the
anxiety of sitting in the East.

One is to smile from within. A lodge senses
devotion and understanding from the Master.

Another is to control the meeting. The Master who
looks to the sidelines for a Past Master to tell him every move to make does not
have control.

Nor should the meeting come unraveled at the Secretary’s
desk. Most correspondence read word for word can be summarized, including
communications from the Grand Lodge. Usually, whispering good counsel in
the Secretary’s ear gets the point across without creating an adverse
relationship.

Interminable introductions are the downfall of many
meetings, particularly when Masonic dignitaries are present. By the time
for the main event, the members are worn out from jumping up and down to salute
each group the Master paraded to the East.

One innovative Master said, “Enough!” Laying aside the
manual of ceremonies, he announced, “Brethren, tonight we are honored to have as
our guest speaker a distinguished Freemason. In addition, we have with us
two Past Grand Masters and several Grand Lodge officers. In order that you
will have an opportunity to meet our visitors, we will dispense with the usual
procedure for presentations and salute you in a manner we trust is worthy of
your high office.”

Instead of appointing committees to present four separate
groups of dignitaries in the East with accompanying salutes and responses, the
Master introduced at their seats Past Grand Masters, Grand Lodge officers,
District Deputy Grand Masters, and Worshipful Masters. Other groups were
recognized at their seats without individual introductions. A forty minute
procedure was reduced to ten minutes, and the lodge enjoyed the extra time at
refreshment following the meeting. It came as no surprise when the Master
received an overwhelming endorsement for the way he handled the introduction.

The festive board is an ideal way to divide a long
meeting. When there is an unusual amount of business to come before the
lodge in addition to the program, the Master would be well advised to start the
meeting one hour early, take care of lodge business, call off for dinner, and
return for the program. Those who want to come for the business portion
will be present, and no one complains about having to sit through an overly long
meeting.

Some lodges guard against lengthy meetings by convening
two stated meetings by each month - the first to conduct lodge business and the
second for a program.

CONCLUSION

Good attendance is the natural result of stimulated
interest. Stimulated interest is the natural result of preparation,
planning and execution.

First, the Candidate must be prepared to receive the
benefits of Freemasonry.

Second, the Master must be prepared to execute a year by
planning intelligently, communicating effectively, and conducting meetings with
dispatch, dignity, and diligence.

Continuity among line officers is required to sustain an
increase in attendance. Nothing kills momentum quicker than the failure to
follow an up-tempo year with another up-tempo year. Regenerated enthusiasm
becomes contagious. Word spreads about the enjoyment of returning to
lodge. Increased attendance feeds on itself. And Freemasonry’s light
burns brighter because the Master dared to be different.